


Chutes and Ladders

by trinaest



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Established Relationship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-14
Updated: 2011-04-14
Packaged: 2017-10-18 01:53:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/183676
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trinaest/pseuds/trinaest
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Do you think the rain will stop soon so we can swim, Danno?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chutes and Ladders

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to Ivy and Celli for reading and approving! :D
> 
> Huge thanks to Goss for the amazingly beautiful artwork!!

  


Danny watches Grace stand by the window, staring outside wistfully. “Do you think the rain will stop soon so we can swim, Danno?” She doesn’t turn her head to speak to him, just keeps staring outside.

He walks up behind her, puts a hand on her shoulder and squeezes gently. “I don’t know, Monkey. If it doesn’t—”

Steve crashes into the room behind them, interrupting. Danny turns just in time to see Steve drop a pile of boxes onto the coffee table.

“What’ve you got there, McGarrett?” He moves toward the table, curiously drawn by the familiarly-shaped boxes.

Steve smiles and ducks his head, like he’s embarrassed. “I don’t think my dad ever threw anything away...”

Danny starts reading off the titles: “Scrabble, Clue, Monopoly, Mouse Trap—” He grins up at Steve. “Mouse Trap, really? You think all the pieces are there?”

By now Grace has joined them and she’s already spotted her choice. “Chutes and Ladders! Can we play Chutes and Ladders, Daddy?” She looks up at him hopefully.

Danny starts to agree but then sees Grace frown when she turns her gaze on Steve. He looks to see Steve frowning at the box. “What?”

“Well, it says ages 3 to 6. Gracie’s—”

“Shut up. Stop. If my daughter wants to play Chutes and Ladders, we will play Chutes and Ladders.” He pauses, glaring at Steve. “Got it?”

“Aye aye, sir!” Steve doesn’t actually salute, but he does that thing where suddenly, just by the way he’s standing, you can SEE that he’s in the military. Then he smirks at Danny and pulls the box out from the middle of the pile.

Soon they’re playing Chutes and Ladders and Gracie is giggling and Steve is frowning at the board with more concentration than it warrants—must he take everything so seriously?—and Danny, well, Danny is content. Comfortable. Like he never in a million years thought he’d be in Hawaii.

An hour passes and Steve gets up to get everyone soda and juice refills.

Grace is chattering about something that happened at school when Steve calls from the kitchen. “Hey, Danny! Grace! Come take a look.”

Grace looks at him curiously, and Danny shrugs at her and gets up, reaching out to take her hand. They find Steve standing by the back door, looking outside. None of them had noticed that the rain had recently stopped, but here was the obligatory rainbow to prove it (not that it needed proving, since everything outside was dripping from the heavy shower).

Danny moves to stand next to Steve, bumping their shoulders together gently. “Beautiful.” That earns him a happy smile from Steve.

Grace squeals and jumps up and down. “Can we go swimming now?”

Danny looks up at Steve. “What do you think, oh Hawaiian native, is the rain done for the day?”

Steve peers at the sky. “Probably. And we can always make a run for the house if it starts again. It’s not like getting wet will matter by then.”

Danny chuckles, acknowledging Steve’s logic. He reaches over, turns Gracie toward the other room and gives her a light swat. “Go get changed and Steve will take you swimming.”

“Yay!! Thank you, Steve!” Gracie gives him her sunniest smile before racing for “her” room to change into her swimsuit.

He moves back toward Steve and rests a hand on his back, rubbing slow, gentle, unthinking circles. “Thanks.”

Steve looks down at him, surprised. “For what?”

Danny thinks about Grace and the games and Steve taking her swimming and how they, both he and Gracie, have become so entwined with Steve McGarrett’s life that today just feels...normal. So he just shrugs, sliding his arm around Steve’s waist and giving him a little squeeze.

Steve reciprocates, dropping an arm around Danny’s shoulder and drawing him closer. Steve is staring outside again, but Danny is looking at Steve’s face when Grace comes racing back into the room.

“Let’s go!” She calls out, racing toward them. He sees Steve’s face light up as he turns toward Grace and Danny’s stomach—heart, whatever—does a little flip, like it always does when he witnesses the love his partner has for his daughter.

Steve glances down at him, a question in his eyes.

“Nope. You two go have fun. I’ll figure out dinner while you guys are out working up an appetite.”

Steve agrees easily, giving Danny a quick kiss and ushering Grace out the door ahead of him. He glances back, leaving the door open now that it’s stopped raining, and Danny waves. He stands there for a moment, watching the two most important people in his life chase each other down the beach, then turns back to the kitchen.

Danny heads to the refrigerator and suddenly stops in his tracks, realizing that he’d forgotten to go over the litany of warnings before letting his daughter go in the _ocean_ with _Super SEAL_. He’s about to race back to the door to shout warnings down the beach when he catches himself. He consciously breathes in, out, and lets it go. He knows his baby is safe. Better get that dinner started.


End file.
